Christmas gifts
by MadamUchiha82
Summary: It's Christmas Eve in Kohona. Gifts are exchanged and even some new feelings, good and bad. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!


Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto. I wish I did; I'd make Sasusaku go canon!c:

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Sakura handed an over-excited Naruto his gift. He tore into the package without hesitation. Even grown, he'd never change with his enthusiasm over small things. No one minded though, its who he was; and always will be.

His eyes widened at the sight of his present. Sakura had bought him gift card to his favorite ramen shop. She got him that every year, it's what he always wanted.

"I'm glad you like it!" She smiled towards Naruto.

"Hai, Sakura-chan! I love it!" Naruto gave her a reassuring smile that he would never get tired of ramen.

It was Christmas Eve and team 7 gathered at their usual spot, Ichiraku. Was it a special place for a holiday dinner? No. Was it special to them? Yes. For a while, it didn't seem right to eat there as a team without Sasuke. Sakura hardly went after he left. She always cried after she got home from their meal. It brought back much to painful memories of the old team.

Sasuke had returned about a year ago. This was their first Christmas with him back. She enjoyed herself this time at Ichiraku; exchanging presents, telling stories, and laughing. Well, Sasuke didn't do much laughing. But, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Sakura turned toward Kakashi with a devious smile. She reached into her bag and picked up a small package wrapped in red paper.

"Kaka-Sensei! Merry Christmas!" She giggled while shoving it into his hands.

Kakashi took the present into his own and shook it. It was small, square, and hard. Almost like a _book._

"Now, I know what you're thinking." She explained. "But, you're wrong!"

She covered her mouth with her hands to try to hide the excitement as he unwrapped the gift. It wasn't working, giggles still managed to escape. Kakashi tore the paper down the middle and flipped the small box over. No, it's not what he had expected.

"And here I thought you were going to get me another copy of Icha Icha." He said proudly.

Kakashi turned the gift over and over in his hands. It was the Christmas collection of Icha Icha... On tape! He smiled and thanked Sakura for the thoughtful gift. Previous years she'd always gotten him the latest copy, but this year, he beat her to it. This time she had to be creative.

Now, who was left? Oh that's right, Sasuke.

The man she wasn't so head-over-heels in love with anymore. Sakura turned to her right to face Sasuke. He stared at her curiously. Was she really going to give him a gift? He left her knocked out on a bench 4 years ago. He studied every move she made with fascination. Sakura was one of those people that he didn't know their next move, at least outside of training. She moved her hand down into her bag and dug around a bit. Then, Sakura lifted a bright blue package out of it and handed it to Sasuke, all done while smiling.

"I hope you like it, you're kind of hard to shop for." She embarrassingly rubbed the back of her neck.

Sasuke tore the package and balled up the paper beside him. The first thing he picked up was tomato seeds. He raised his eyebrows, maybe she wasn't so annoying.

"I thought, maybe, come spring you could... could plant a garden." She was still uncomfortable around him.

She was not uncomfortable from fear of him. No; she was confused with her feelings. Sasuke smiled at the tomato seeds- once in a lifetime here, people- and looked at what was underneath them. He lifted it up and stared.

It was an old picture of Team Seven.

Sasuke stared at the picture uncomfortably; he hadn't seen it in years. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to speak up.

"When you left... I-I found that in your house. You left it behind. I thought now that you've come back, you would want it." She mumbled. "If you don't like it I could just-"

"Hn, thank you." He told her.

Sakura was quiet for the rest of dinner and gift exchange. She knew that the photo was a bad present. She'd hoped that it would be good for him; due to his stoic reaction, appearently not. By the time she was ready to leave, Sakura had a full stomach and wonderful gifts in hand. She received an 'Icha Icha Women's novel' from Kakashi. When she had unwrapped it her face flushed and the boys laughed at her. Of course Kakashi would do something like that. From Naruto she got a ramen cook book. She guessed this was a hint to come and cook ramen for him; figures. Pathetic, yet still hilarious. She had not however, received a gift from Sasuke. He gave Naruto and Kakashi a gift but simply told her:

"Hn. I didn't know what to get you."

She was okay though. It was joyful enough to see Naruto act like a child on Christmas morning every time he received a present. Being mad that someone didn't give her a gift would seem very childlike and rude. Not that she was going to act like that anyway.

Sakura stood up and thanked her peers. She gave them hugs and wished them a Merry Christmas. Right as she was about to leave Sasuke stood up quickly.

"I'll walk you home." He said softly.

Naruto and Kakashi could barely contain their giggles.

"Oh, you don't need to do that I-" She started.

"It's late and I don't want you to walk alone for too long in the dark." He contradicted her.

Sakura huffed and took off with him following. Honestly, she was a grown woman and a ninja. She didn't need a body-guard to walk 20 minutes to get to her home. She stuffed her hands into her coat pocket; it was getting really cold.

They walked in silence. There really wasn't much to talk about.

Sasuke looked down on Sakura and saw her breath when she exhaled. He shifted and grunted to try and break the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry I didn't get you a Christmas present." He almost whispered.

Sakura's ears perked up when she heard him speak. She looked up at his face and smiled. They were almost to her door anyway.

"It's okay, Sasuke. I know very well that girls are hard to shop for."

The two reached her front door; the light turned on and reflected the air around them. The two ninja watched the snow flurries drift from the sky to the ground. Sasuke turned to face her.

"I guess I could give you something..." he muttered.

"What?" She turned around to see him.

Sasuke was so close to her face that she almost screamed. What the hell kinda present is this? His lips puckered and his eyes closed. He shifted awkwardly when she didn't respond.

Sasuke opened one eye to see Sakura staring at him wildly.

"Kami, Sakura. I'm giving you your Christmas present! Aren't you like in lov-"

Sasuke was cut off with a harsh slap across his face. Didn't expect that, huh Sasuke? Sasuke couldn't think for a second, but he saw stars. His cheek also hurt like a bitch.

"_How dare you!_" She yelled at him. "Who the fuck do you think I am? I'm not some little 12-year-old who obsess's over you anymore!"

Sasuke stared at her baffled. Oops.

The wind blew harder and more snow started to fall faster. Sakura balled her fists and yelled at him more.

"Didn't it ever occur to you that you left us? What in Gods name makes you think I'm still in love with you?!" She was now screaming at him.

Sakura beat on his chest and her eyes were glossy with tears. She went on like that until tears ran down her face. Sasuke didn't interrupt her for one moment; she needed to say these things.

Ever since Sasuke came home, she'd tried to ignore him. Sakura vowed herself to become the best medic nin and kunoichi she could be, and she did. Sasuke coming home wasn't going to stop that, nor was she going to obsess over him anymore. It wasn't worth it for something that would never be. She finally grew up. When Sasuke walked through Kohona's gates, he was immediately arrested, no question. When she saw him, she didn't run up to him and hug him, or cry, or confess her love. She hated him at the moment, and wasn't sure why. So, why the fuck would he think she still had a ditsy crush on him?

She finally grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

_'Oh shit, she's gonna try and fight me.'_ He readied himself to defend.

Sakura pulled her face into his shirt and cried. She stayed like that for a few minutes and tears soaked his navy blue coat. Cautiously, he wrapped an arm around her. And then another. Sasuke, the heartless bastard, was hugging her. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

She sniffed and took in a breath of icy air.

"Why? Why did you leave us?" She sobbed into his chest. "We were so worried. I thought I'd never see you again."

Her voice was a hoarse whisper; more tears spilled down her face when she tried to talk. She'd hadn't cried this hard in a long time. No, she couldn't confess these feelings to him. She had to be strong and not give in; it wasn't working well. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her made tears spill over her face again and almost hyperventilate . She needed to cal herself down before things got out of control.

She pulled her face away and sucked in a another painfully slow breath, then exhaled. Her breath came out as puffs of fog; it was getting really cold. She looked up at him.

Sasuke's side of his coat was covered in snow, protecting her from the icy mess of weather. He saw that she finally calmed down. Her cheeks were pink and eyes puffy. He motioned towards her front door.

"Unlock your door, it's too cold to be out here." He almost shivered.

Sakura leaned down to put her key into the lock and twisted it. With Sasuke's help she pushed to door open. The two burst through the door to try and get to the warmth of her house. When finally in and lights turned on, she wandered to the kitchen and waved for Sasuke to follow. He walked behind her.

"I'm sorry for...for uh, having a moment." She spoke quietly.

Sakura turned toward her stove to start the tea water boiling. She shivered and hoped Sasuke would say something to make her feel less awkward. This was not how she wanted her Christmas to end up.

"The weather's getting worse." He commented.

Oh, thanks for the help, Sasuke.

She turned to look out her kitchen window. You couldn't see more than two feet. Shit.

"Ah, it's a blizzard." She turned back when the tea-pot whistled.

As much as she tried to hide it, her eyes were still puffy and red. There were also a few streaks of mascara. When she looked at Sasuke briefly she saw a wet spot where she had cried.

'_Great, we're back on level one where he thinks of you as a cry baby.' _She mentally sighed.

Carefully, as if not to disturb the silence she didn't want, Sakura poured the tea into two cups. She turned swiftly and went to the living room to wait for Sasuke.

He came in and sat next to her. They sipped at their tea.

"The weather is horrible. If you need to stay here, i have extra blankets and a couch." She tried to smile.

"Hn. Fine." He sipped more tea.

It was hard to admit that he didn't want to walk home in this weather. Sakura tried to start a conversation again.

"Sasuke? Are you... are you mad that I broke down in front of you.?" Her voiced turned into a whisper at the end.

He put down his cup and folded his hands in his lap. There was silence for a while as he thought.

"No. This is the most you've talked to me since I've come home. I was worried you were losing your feelings."

Her thoughts lingered on the word_ 'home'._ "Oh." was all she could say.

The two finished the tea and sat in the living room trying to break the awkwardness. Sakura finally looked at the clock and spoke up.

"It's late... I think I'm going to go to bed. I'll get you blankets if you're staying." She stood up.

"Hn. Thank you for the tea." He politely replied.

Sakura climbed up her stairs to get him blankets and get ready for bed. She reached her room and got into warm pajamas. Then she went to the hall closet to retrieve extra blankets. Just as she was about to walk down the stairs, the lights flickered. Then again. Then, the house went black and every other in the neighborhood.

Sakura screamed.

As soon as he heard her scream, he bolted up the stairs and about knocked her over at the top.

"What happened?" His sharigan activated.

Sakura put her hands on him to try and see with her hands.

"The power went out." She mumbled.

Sasuke looked at her dumbfounded. No shit?

"Sakura, I thought you were hurt." He growled.

Sakura sighed at her stupidity. She heard the wind howl outside. Then it dawned on her.

"Sasuke, I have electric heating. It's going to get cold in here. Fast." She spoke in a panic.

He inwardly groaned at her state of panic. Jeez, she was a ninja; she could deal without power for a while. Sasuke felt his way to the closet where she'd gotten his blankets from.

"Sakura, Don't panic. We'll just get more blankets than normal. Where are your flashlights?" He asked her.

Sakura turned towards Sasuke's voice, what he was saying didn't really make sense at the moment. You see, Sakura was very afraid of the dark. She was fine when she walked into a dark room. There were normally windows, street lights, and other rooms that had light. But this, this was total blackness. There wasn't even moonlight because of the storm.

She shivered. It was already starting to get cold in the house. Sasuke shook her shoulders violently when he didn't get a response from the cherry blossom.

"Sakura!" He practically yelled.

She snapped out of her daze when she felt him.

"What?! What?" She asked frightened.

"I asked you where your flashlights were." Sasuke sighed.

Sakura blinked and tried to regain herself.

"Oh, sorry. They're in the bathroom cabinet."

Sasuke felt his way down the hall to her bathroom. When he reached it, he quickly felt around for the cabinet and pulled out two flashlights.

"Here. Good night, Sakura." He handed her a flashlight.

"Thanks. Sorry." She mumbled.

The two walked in different directions to sleep. Both carrying a mass of blankets and a flashlight. Sakura reach her room first and threw the mass on her bed. She quickly stripped and got into warm pajamas. It was now freezing. Goose bumps covered her arms as she settled the blankets on top of her soon to be sleeping form.

She let out a breathy sigh when she was finally warm.

Sasuke, downstairs had to wrestle with his to get comfortable on her small couch. It was getting so cold in her house he almost thought about hiking through the blizzard to get home. But, what if he got there and his house had no power? He decided it was better to just stay here.

Upstairs, Sakura tossed and turned in her bed.

'_I can't believe I did that in front of him. I've never broken down like that in public and of course the first time had to be him.'_ She mentally cursed herself.

Sakura lay on her right side and stuck her mouth out of the covers to breathe in cold air. She couldn't sleep, but it wasn't from the coldness.

_'Oh Kami, what is he going to think of me now?' _She tried to sleep.

Her thoughts and regrets were keeping the pink headed girl awake. She worked up so many scenarios of what she thought Sasuke was thinking that she made herself get worked up again. A single tear slide down her cheek. Before she knew it, she was sobbing into her cold pillow.

_'God, I've messed up everything. He'll never be my friend, much less talk to me ever again.'_ The thought made her cry harder.

When the power's out, houses become not only dark, but quiet. There's no sound of a dishwasher, dryer, buzz of an outlet, water boiler, hum of some whatnot. No, it's silent. You really start to notice the houses' natural noises. Sasuke, was experiencing this now.

He curled up tighter in his mass of quilts on Sakura's couch. Sasuke couldn't sleep, so he listened. He heard the creak in the houses floors; even though no one was walking. He heard some kind of animal scatter through her crawl space beneath him. It too, was trying to find warmth. There was also the wind beating against the side of her small house. Snow came down in icy sheets and almost sounded like rain.

At points when noises stopped, it was so quiet, he could almost hear his breath freeze.

_'Interesting.'_ He thought.

Distracted from contentedly trying to hear the houses's noises he failed to hear Sakura until now. Sasuke was knocked out of his daze when he heard a muffled cry. It was obviously Sakura; no one else was here. Sasuke turned toward the stairs that lead to her room. He groaned and quickly sprung out from the covers. He darted up the stairs so fast, the quiet wasn't even disturbed.

Sasuke stood in her doorway shivering for a second and watched her weeping into her pillow. The cold finally sunk into his bones completely and he climbed into her bed to reach warmth.

Sakura flipped over immediately when she felt the weight of someone else on her bed. She could barely make out Sasuke's shape of hair and knew it was him. She felt relieved when she knew that there wasn't some creep in her bed. Well, it was a little creepy that Sasuke was in her bed. Sakura attempted to wipe the dried tears off of her cheeks. She didn't want him to know she was crying.

Sasuke looked down at Sakura's form; he couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not. He took his right hand and gently pushed her pink hair out of her face.

"Sasuke?" She sounded hoarse again.

He could clearly tell by her tone that she hadn't been asleep.

"Hn?" He responded.

"Why are you here?"

Her voice was weak. She whispered so quietly as if not to disturb the silence. He didn't understand why. No one else was here. Who did she think she was going to wake up?

"Why?" She asked again.

Tears started to form in her ducts again. They threatened to spill over when Sasuke moved closer to her. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by something warm pressed to her lips. She let a breath escape through her nose when Sasuke kissed her. She didn't understand his meaning, but kissed him back anyway.

She was so confused; it made more tears spill down her cheeks. Yet, she went along with Sasuke's motions. He slowly left her mouth and left small kisses down her cheek. He could taste the salty bitterness of the tears that had been shed and were yet to come. Sasuke kissed all the way down to her neck and gently sucked on the delicate skin. Her once porcelain skin was now bruised with small love bites up and down her neck and chest. When Sasuke started to pick up speed, she stopped him.

"No."

The storm outside died down. Sakura's house was completely silent except for her protest. Moonlight shown through the window and Sasuke could see her tears glisten on her cheeks. Sasuke stopped his motions, but didn't pull further away. He looked down at her face and didn't reply.

"If I wanted a good fuck- " She continued.

Sakura pulled Sasuke's head down to her face. She put her mouth right at the start of his ear; he could hear her whisper loud n' clear.

"-I would go to Kiba." Sakura spoke louder than when she had started.

...

"Make _love _to me, Sasuke."

With that being said, there was no need to reply; she wanted this. Sasuke slowly brought himself up, raising the covers with his body. He crept her shirt up her back, trying not let the cold sink in. But, it was cold. A shiver went down her whole body and up again. She turned her head to the side when more clothes shed from her body and his. Tears ran into her ears since she was lying on her back.

Audible sighs made every so often from the pinkette. Like she said, Sasuke made love to her. He wasn't able to see her body, but he felt with his hands. He ran them up and down and all over her smooth skin. It was addictive, he had to feel all over her. His pace was tantalizingly slow, but she wanted it like that. It was her own mental punishment for giving in.

They were both nude now, laying there. Sasuke cupped his palm on her cheek, feeling the dampness of still present tears. Why? Why is she still crying?

"Sakura." He spoke.

she turned her head upwards to face him directly.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

She nodded her head and made a noise that sounded like a muffled "yes". He slowly pushed into her and bent down to kiss her lips. Sakura arched her back into his chest. She rolled her hips to match every thrust he made.

Their sex was not loud, nor was it fast. He slowly pumped in and out of her small body; just enough force to lift her off the bed slightly. Neither one was moaning loudly or screaming. It was all just, peaceful. There was, however, audible breathing and pants that filled the quiet house. Sakura clawed at his back, she pushed her chest into his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The two moved in sync for who knows how long. She beat herself up inside her head. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to hate him, or at least deal with him. How? How did she end up in this position? She could have said: "No, leave me be." Or "I'm fine." But instead, she went with: "Make love to me". Why did she have to be so stupid?

Sakura felt her loins boil with a sudden heat, her breath hitched and she floated on cloud 9 for a minute. For such slow, sad, sex, her orgasm had been pretty intense. She let out a strangled cry when it had hit her. Tears ran down her cheeks and she sobbed hard for a few minutes after she climaxed.

Sasuke, however, didn't make a sound when he let go. Much like the rest of their love-making. He felt her clench up against his member as she rode on her orgasm. He thrusted wildly a few times and then climaxed. His warm seed spilled into her womb and filled her up. Sasuke collapsed on top of the cherry blossom and then rolled to her side.

"Sakura?" He panted.

Light from the stars and moon now shown through her bedroom window. Sasuke looked down at her. Sakurs's eyes red and puffy, she seemed to be staring off into no where at the moment. She turned toward him.

Sakura." He repeated.

Still no answer. They were both covered in a sheen sweat. Yet, her cheeks and neck were noticlby wetter than the rest of her body.

"Why were you crying?" He whispered.

Sakura let out a sigh and thought for a second on what to say. She cleared her throat and took in a breath of frigid air.

"I..." She stopped because more tears threatened to spill.

"I wasn't... supposed to love you." She ended up crying.

"But Sakura, _I love you_."

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. R&R for my Christmas present? Eh, eh? (:


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